Interactive systems, whether for humans or machines, typified by the example of the internet, but also more generally for any interactive system linking people and machines, for example mobile telephone services, provide a level of personalisation by observing and recording the behaviour of an individual. Sometimes this is done by lodging in a central database, or in a hierarchy of multiple databases, data that has been observed on behaviour and preferences of users.
A typical system might log the IP address of a user machine or application, and recognise that real (or virtual) “user” on return. More sophisticated systems might leave a portion of the activity database, for example the piece of code often referred to as a “cookie”, on the user's machine, or lodged in some interim database or databases between the user application and the ultimate host for that application, or in some interim relay application.
In this way the ultimate host application or applications and databases associated with it, records information on behaviour and preferences in between visits to the host machine, service or application. The user is therefore identifiable and identified specifically.
The user, whether human or machine, of services provided across the network accepts, typically by default but sometimes explicitly, to be identified in order to be offered tailored information, including the offer of possible transactions which then require the further provision of specifically personal data such as credit card information.
Sometimes, for example when accessed from a company or a specific Internet Service Provider (ISP) there is an accidental level of anonymity provided for the end user. For example, the host sees only that the user has arrived from AOL® or from within IBM®, but increasingly systems serving content look beyond this to identify the user machine or user specific application to the host application.
In the case of mobile phones, specific identification of the handset is required to enable the call to take place (and in future this will extend to the application running in the handset). Often the user is asked for further information to be volunteered and this allows greater tailoring in exchange for less privacy.
Anonymous web access is possible using a proxy server or anonymiser service but then there is no possibility for the provision of tailored services to that real or virtual “user”. These services may be the provision of content for humans, or may be privileged computing and bandwidth services or perhaps tailored information services or access rights or commercial offers including direct marketing or advertising offers, or other types of data or media content.
If the user uses an existing proxy machine or an existing anonymiser service they can be anonymous but they then forgo any systematic chance of a tailored or personalised response from the service or machine or application. This may be as simple as forgoing preferential access speeds or as complex as being unable to access specific as personalised and private information unique to the user.
It is desirable to address this problem.